


Surprise

by lees



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 17:50:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6714970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lees/pseuds/lees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi notices how down Eren has been lately, so he comes up with an idea to bring back the cheerful dork he knows and loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprise

**Saturday 5th, 8:00am**

 

**Levi**

 

The day was an exceptionally rare one, considering that it was currently the middle of Winter and the temperature had not risen above -10°c for a few weeks now: the crisp morning air had a sort of rejuvenating freshness about it that Levi, as he neared the apartment he and his boyfriend shared, felt more awake than usual, considering the impossibly early hours. Although he could barely see the path, the snow that covered it trodden into a slushy mess, his senses permitted him to note the difference in the atmosphere. Something that told him this day was to be better than what he and his brunette lover had been recently experiencing. 

 

How long had it been since he'd seen Eren truly happy? Quite a while now. Even a day without seeing that breath-taking smile of his was enough to dampen Levi's mood, which sometimes relied entirely on Eren to lift. He was just a naturally unhappy person, yet the younger male could always manage to bring him out of that cloud of gloom. Perhaps that was why they had clicked so well. And even now, as Eren was struggling through his own time of difficulty, Levi was there to help.

 

A friend of the brunette's had passed away. Levi could vaguely remember him, for he tended to stay on his own or in just Eren's company, purely out of habit, and Eren didn't have the heart to break it. He knew his name, at least. Something beginning with R... Ri... Ra... Ri something. He did know his name! It was just too early for his mind to function properly.

 

But while he didn't really know the friend that well, the death had certainly affected him. Eren hadn't been acting like his usual self since it happened, and while Levi understood what he was going through, he desired to bring back the cheerful, bright-eyed and rather goofy boy he had grown to love. Knowing that Eren was sad made him sad. So he was going to do something about it.

 

Which was why he was out at eight in the morning, trying not to slip on the ice that coated the streets, a box nearly too heavy to handle in his stupidly numb hands. 

 

_Reiner_. That was the guy. Reiner. 

 

Anyways, said box was emitting loud and rather irritating noises as he tried his best not to shuffle it around too much in fear of damaging the contents. Any passer by would probably stare at him in complete bewilderment, and most probably raise a few questions as to what the hell he was doing at eight oh clock in the morning, not even dressed warmly considering the weather, and holding a box nearly as big as him that seemed to be making weird noises. 

 

"Shut up," he snapped impatiently, when the box gave a sudden jolt, resulting in him nearly losing both his grip and his patience. Okay, now he was certain he looked like a complete idiot. Talking to boxes? Thank god the streets seemed pretty much empty. Who on earth (excluding himself, he was doing this for Eren) would decide to take a walk this early in the morning, on a weekend, in a quiet town, in the middle of Winter?

 

Hanji Zoe and her giant of a dog, that's who.

 

"Morning, Levi!" the doctor chirped happily as she approached, her hand wrapped firmly around the rope attached to the Labrador's collar. At least she knew not to aggravate him with any of the height-degrading nicknames she'd usually throw at him. It was a well known fact that Levi Ackerman was not a morning person.

 

Instead of gracing her with a response, the shorter male turned his gaze towards the mutt now pawing eagerly at his legs, large brown eyes acquiring a pleading look, tail wagging frantically. The box in his arms jolted again and he muttered "Shit" under his breath before rearranging his grip once again. "You're getting my clothes dirty," he frowned at the animal.

 

"He wants to play with you," Hanji told him seriously, although he could see that she was hiding a smile. "Sawney! Leave the grumpy man alone, okay? You can play with Bean later."

 

Levi rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll let you two get on." He made to move past the doctor, because he doubted he could hold this damn thing much longer. Of course, Hanji stopped him.

 

"Hold on, Levi!" she called, unnecessarily loudly, making Levi flinch and the persistent noises that the box was still emitting cease, "You have to tell me what's in there!" 

 

"No. It's for Eren. I'm sure he'll tell you later when you come round, anyway." He didn't want to have to go to the hassle of opening it up, only to close it once more. Besides, Eren always told Hanji anything and everything when she made her regular visits to their apartment, occasionally accompanied by Erwin and his own dog, Bean.

 

At the sound of the brunette's name, Hanji's smile froze. It was these frequent visits that brought her to the realisation that Eren hadn't been his usual self lately, and after learning the reason why, she hastened to bring it up around the two males. Hanji could certainly be annoying when she wanted to, but something that relaxed and reassured Levi was the woman's tactfulness. 

 

"A present? To cheer him up, right?" she asked slowly. At the ravenette's nod, another, smaller yet gentler smile crept onto her face. "That is so adorable. Oh my God, can I come round tonight? I want to see what it is! Or maybe tomorrow? I can bring Sawney and ask Erwin to come and he can bring Bean and-"

 

Levi quickly cut off her incessant rambling before she got too excited again. Even though her job required her to be entirely serious, the woman tended to get a bit out of hand when she wasn't working. "It's probably better if you don't bring the dogs. But you can both come..." He'd regret that. "Tomorrow. Not tonight. I want to see how he... settles."

 

Hanji nodded, her intelligent brown eyes now glazed over with a thoughtful look. Oh, no. Hanji was thinking. That couldn't be good.

Before she could say anything more, Levi quickly sidestepped them both, careful not to jog the box too much, and mumbled a quick "See you" before continuing his walk, increasing his pace quite a bit before chancing a glance backwards and seeing Hanji scolding Sawney for eating something he found on the path.

 

**Saturday 5th, 8:56am**

 

Unsurprisingly, Eren was still asleep when Levi returned home (finally!) that morning. He didn't bother going into the room they kind of happened to share (Eren's actual bedroom was now the guest room, which was usually occupied by Mikasa, his sister, when she came to visit, seeing as he spent practically every night with Levi anyway) to wake him. No, as much as the ravenette wanted to crawl back into those blissfully warm blankets and envelope himself in more than one heat source, he knew he shouldn't. He had to prepare Eren's 'surprise'.

 

Of course, there wasn't really much to prepare. 

 

Placing the box on the kitchen counter, deciding that this would be the best place, the ravenette carefully opened the lid and peered inside, unable to believe that he was actually doing this. Once satisfied with what he saw, he reached into the box with both hands, and closed them on something unbelievably soft.

Trying his hardest to be gentle, he slowly lifted it out of the box. 

And stared into the bright green eyes of the cutest animal he'd ever laid eyes on.

 

"You better make him happy," he said after a few moments of silent contemplation, in which he questioned all the choices he had ever made in his life.

 

A cat. Why, out of all things, had he brought an animal back to their apartment? Something that created noise and mess and hassle and offered nothing else in return, something that always begged for attention at the most inconvenient times. Kind of like Hanji.

 

It wasn't as though pets had no place here. Eren had already checked to see if their current home would allow animals, yet even after receiving the confirmation that they were, Levi had refused, much to the brunette's disappointment. So why now? Was it just a spur of the moment thing? Was he just so tired that he wasn't thinking straight? Was it because he needed to get something for Eren, and had no other ideas?

Or was it because he was entranced by those bright green eyes, so alike his lover's? Was it because he knew this was the one thing Eren wanted the most in the world, something that would ensure his happiness? Or maybe he just really secretly liked pets, and this cat was so damn adorable.

 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Levi asked, watching with faint amusement as the small animal squirmed out of his grip and jumped onto the counter, sniffing around a little as he began to explore (yes, he checked, the cat was a boy. And not by looking... there. He asked the pet shop owner).

 

"Don't you dare make a mess, you little shit," the ravenette warned, his voice lacking conviction as he placed his palms on the counter to observe the cat's movements more closely. 

 

The cat turned his attention to him, gaze alert and watchful, his movements wary. He seemed so tense, probably expecting Levi to lash out at him or something, which wasn't surprising, considering his vulgar language and threatening tone. Maybe he hadn't set a very good first impression.

 

"I won't hurt you," Levi informed it in his sweetest tone, which, as one could imagine, wasn't much to speak of. The cat decided the most favourable option was to ignore him completely, and so he did just that, jumping off the counter and padding past him.

 

"Come back, you little shit!" Levi called after it, following him into the living room. Now that he thought about it, the cat's fur was quite beautiful, silky and soft. While the underside of the animal was fluffy and white, the rest of him was ginger, darker orange patches creating an attractive pattern down it's back, which contrasted greatly. The tip of his nose was pale pink, similar to the colour of his paddy paws. And those eyes... eyes that contained a desire to go out and explore the world. Or the apartment.

"So damn cute," Levi sighed quietly, attention directed towards the curious creature wandering around the carpet, sniffing at the air, ears twitching.

 

"Levi? Who are you talking to?"

 

The ravenette yelped, albeit in a very manly way, and stumbled back a little. He had been so caught up in watching Little Shit wander around the place that he hadn't heard Eren getting up, probably woken by his loud voice.

 

"M-morning, Eren," he stuttered, embarrassed at having reacted in such a way. Oh, god, he could practically feel the heat radiating from his cheeks. Why was he blushing?

 

However, all thoughts of his humiliation were wiped from his mind when he saw the boy leaning against the doorway, dragging a hand through his untamed bedhead, green eyes watching him intently with unhidden amusement. 

"Were you talking to yourself?" he asked teasingly. Levi couldn't even respond. Eren just woke up. How was it even possible for someone to look that adorable when they just. woke. up.

 

"No," the ravenette answered after a short pause. Oh, god, was that his shirt Eren was wearing? Well, the shirt he'd given him after buying it a while back and discovering it was too big for him to wear, even as a lounging shirt. Hell, it was big on Eren.

And only added to his cuteness.

 

God, he was ridiculous.

 

"Then why could I hear-" Eren suddenly cut himself off, eyes widening as he stared past Levi. It was obvious what had stolen the brunette's attention, and the older male had to work extremely hard to fight down the smug smirk that was threatening to creep onto his face. All because of Levi's genius idea to bring home this little shit eater, Eren would provide the perfect reaction, probably gushing with thanks, most likely brimming with happiness, and, if he were hopeful, it would throw him out of the depressed trance he'd been in recently-

 

" _Ohmygodwhatthefuckisthat_?"

 

Okay, he should have expected this. Levi truly loved the brunette, but Eren had never been the sharpest.

 

"That's a cat, Eren," he explained, speaking slow and deliberate. He wasn't trying at all to conceal the mockery of his words. 

 

The boy was obviously shocked. It was kind of funny to see the confusement, followed by excitement flash across his face.

 

"Iknowthat!" he exclaimed, "Butwhyisithere?" He took a tentative step forwards, the look he sent Levi clearly asking him for permission to make his move. At the older male's nod, Eren practically squealed, before rushing over to the small animal, which was now fixing him with a vaguely interested stare. Despite the brunette's obvious excitement, he paused before slowly getting to his knees, stretching out a hand, silently communicating with the animal in a way Levi wouldn't have had the patience for

 

"It's adorable," Eren whispered, and the delighted look on his face when the cat moved forwards to brush up against his hand finally gave Levi that sense of pride he'd been desiring. "Boy or girl?"

 

"Boy," Levi told him, and allowed his lips to turn upwards in a small smile. "Surprise, Eren."

 

The two watched in silence as the cat proceeded to nudge his head against Eren's still outstretched hand, and the boy happily complied with the unspoken request, petting the animal for a good five minutes before it got bored and wandered off. As cats do. 

 

Levi noticed that his younger lover was about to get up and follow him to wherever he was going, and cleared his throat, halting him. "Leave the poor bastard alone for a while. He only just got here, so you'll want to let him get used to the place." 

 

"He's so cute, though!" Eren whined, getting to his feet and walking over to Levi. A new thought suddenly struck him. "What did you name him?"

 

"Oh, uh..." the ravenette trailed off, unable to look away from the curious green eyes currently burning holes into him, with the intensity of their stare. He guessed Eren wouldn't approve of the nickname he'd already began to use. "You choose."

 

"What, you mean you haven't even named that little cutie, yet?" the brunette asked, disgustingly so in Levi's opinion. Little cutie? Why, Eren?

 

But then Eren's eyes lit up with the prospect of coming up with a name himself. When he was younger, every decision was to be made by not just him, but Mikasa, too. That was how the first and only pet he had ever owned came to be a dog named Titan. It hadn't even suited the tiny little ball of white fluff, yet his sister had insisted on the name, actually deranged in the idea that it fit. And so this pet, his own pet that was to be named by him... had to be something good... but what?

 

"Give me a while!" Eren demanded, determination written all over his youthful face. Before Levi could protest, or even formulate a response, he ran through the doorway and disappeared, obviously going back to his room to think up the perfect name, pursued by Levi's shouts of "At least brush your hair first, you idiot!"

 

**Saturday 5th, 11:04am**

 

**Eren**

 

"Armin, guess what Levi came home with just now!" Eren nearly yelled into the phone, unable to keep the excitement from his voice.

 

"Hello to you, too, Eren," Armin laughed slightly, the animated tone of the brunette a great comfort to him. He hadn't heard from his friend since the news of Reiner's death, and he was becoming more worried with each passing day. However, he hadn't pressed things- he knew that Levi would come up with a way to raise Eren's spirits, and it seemed as though he was right to think so. Besides, Annie had been closer to Reiner than either of them had, and was taking things a lot harder. His girlfriend had only managed to pull through by burying herself in work and, of course, baking. So he figured that if he gave Eren and Levi the space to sort things out their own way, there was no reason to interfere. He was glad for the theory because Eren certainly seemed cheerful now.

 

"Oh my God, you'd never believe it. Honestly, I've been sitting here for at least twenty minutes trying to wake myself up, because this is surely a dream, Levi would never allow pets in here, and I've asked him so many times, but he always refuses and now-"

 

"Wait, wait, a pet? He brought back an animal? That's so cool, what is it? What did you name it?"

 

"I haven't decided, yet! And it's a cat!" Eren informed him, glad that Armin was willing to share his excitement instead of telling him to shut up and calm the hell down. He couldn't calm down! "That's why I called. Do you have any ideas?"

 

"Let me think. Can you send a picture or something? I'm really curious."

 

Eren quickly set his phone down and went off in search of the cat. Hopefully the animal wouldn't cause too much trouble around the house, otherwise there was a chance Levi would just kick him straight back onto the streets. That thought terrified Eren. He was still shocked that Levi, even after expressing how much he didn't want any pets in their home, had brought one back, for him! 

 

He discovered the cat lurking around in the bathroom, attempting to activate the shower spray, clearly curious as to what that bright red switch would do. 

Before any accidents, involving a lot of water and a very disgruntled cat, as well as a pissed off Levi, could occur, Eren gently scooped up the animal in his arms, and returned to the bedroom. The cat obviously didn't like being touched much, if the way he tensed up and squirmed around was anything to go by, but Eren couldn't stop himself from giving it's head a stroke, revelling in the softness of the silky coat.

 

"Are you still there?" he asked after picking up his phone again, placing the cat on the bed and watching it relax into the pillows. Hopefully Levi wouldn't mind too much fur on their sheets.

 

"Yeah. Did you send it yet?"

 

"One moment."

 

Falling to one knee to get a better angle, the brunette opened his camera, and adjusted the view, something he had grown used to doing over the years. It didn't take him at all long, for this reason, before he had a picture of his new cat saved on his phone. As he examined it, he decided that it wasn't half bad- despite the poor quality that was to be expected anyway with his shitty phone, he had managed to capture all the various colours and shades of the cat's fur, and at a great angle, too. The photo displayed him curled into a tight little ball, his face partially hidden, as his head was resting on his two front legs, bent back into one another. Bright eyes were staring straight ahead, and although the cat still looked quite tense, he had definitely relaxed a little since he'd arrived.

 

"Okay, I sent it," Eren said after his examination of the picture, locating Armin's contact and opening up a new conversation with him. 

 

"Really? I haven't got it y... ohhh, that is so adorable!" the blonde cooed, and a wide smile made it's way onto Eren's face.

 

"I know, right?" he grinned, sitting on the edge of the bed so he could lean over and gently stroke the cat. "So... names?"

 

"Hm..." They were both silent for a moment, lost in thought. Eren half considered naming it after Levi himself, but turned down the idea after something told him that wouldn't be so bright. 

 

"What about... TJ?" Armin suggested. 

 

"Uhm... why? What does it stand for?" 

 

He could practically hear the smirk in Armin's voice when he next spoke.

 

"Titan Junior."

 

**Saturday 5th, 12:36pm**

 

**Levi**

 

Levi was fruitlessly attempting to fix the kettle that a certain brunette had somehow managed to break the first time he tried to make a cup of tea, when said brunette came running into the kitchen, chanting "Levi! Levi! Levi!" at the top of his voice.

 

"What's wrong?" the older male asked, quickly abandoning his efforts after hearing the urgency in Eren's voice. However, he was both relieved and annoyed to see that the boy was not in any distress, but seemed like he was about to explode from trepidation if he didn't spit out whatever he was going to say, soon.

 

"I thought of a name!" he babbled excitedly, practically vibrating on the spot. Honestly, Eren's likeness to a puppy was kind of amazing. And also kind of annoying. And also a little bit adorable. But mostly annoying.

 

Levi sighed. "Okay. But if it's anything stupid, like 'Fluffy' or 'Kitty' or whatever stupid name-"

 

"TJ!" he interrupted suddenly, "Titan Junior. TJ. Do you think it's cute? Mikasa and I used to have this dog called Titan, so that's why I decided..."

 

The brunette continued talking, caught up in not just his story, but his happiness. Although Levi wasn't really listening to what his boyfriend was saying, he couldn't miss the animated way he was speaking. He hadn't seen Eren this lively in a long time, and even though he may have acted otherwise, he was truly happy for the sudden change brought along by this. He was getting kind of fed up with the lack of conversation, anyway. You kind of missed the constant incessant talking after a while.

 

**Sunday 6th, 6:00am**

 

_Meow_...

 

Shut up.

 

_Meow, meow..._

 

Go away.

 

_Meow, meow_...

 

Sleep. He needed sleep.

 

_Meow, meow, meow, meow-_

 

Somehow, even within the depths of unconsciousness, Levi managed to hear Eren grumbling as he got up, mumbling something about getting the door. But he couldn't really care less about what was going on. All he cared about was the fact that he was comfy

 

and sleepy 

 

and warm 

 

and it was too early to be doing anything else.

 

**Sunday 6th, 6.30am**  

 

"Eren, what do you want?" Levi grumbled, refusing to open his eyes, trying desperately to fall back asleep. He had awoken to the feel of something soft brushing against his cheek, and immediately began to wonder how annoyed Eren would be if he pushed him out of bed for such a rude awakening.

 

However, the lack of response drove him to open his eyes, and he did so, despite how much he wanted to sink back into an undisturbed slumber.

 

It wasn't Eren that had been poking him. It was TJ.

 

"Oops, did we wake you up, Levi?" Eren asked sweetly, and the ravenette looked up to see him propped up on the bed, casually stroking the cat and not noticing how annoyed Levi was growing.

 

"What the hell?" he snapped, sitting up and fixing both of them with a glare. "Why is he even in here? I closed the door, and he's too stupid to figure out how to open it by himself."

 

"Don't be such a meanie," Eren chastised, returning the glare with a rather fierce one of his own. "He was meowing and scratching at the door earlier on, so I let him in. He was okay for a bit but I guess he wants some attention." He said this last part fondly, casting an affectionate glance towards Little Shit- sorry, TJ.

 

"Whatever. He's probably hungry. We'll go out and buy the proper stuff later, okay?" 

 

"I still can't believe you bought a cat, but no cat food," Eren muttered, but was then interrupted by a long yawn. "Ugh, what time is it?"

 

"It's still dark outside," Levi told him, and Eren got the message. Their little dispute already in the past, he placed TJ on the other male's lap, and climbed back underneath the blankets, pulling Levi to him and resting his chin on his head. Levi relaxed into the taller boy's body, feeling that familiar reassuring safety once those long arms of Eren's had wrapped around his waist. 

 

They managed to stay like that for a good five minutes, before TJ began to meow again.

 

**Sunday 6th, 14:27pm**

 

"You think this will be enough for a week?" Eren asked doubtfully, staring at the bags of food the two of them had hauled down the street from the pet shop. It must have been rather amusing to any onlookers, seeing two men stumbling around the place, ridiculously large bags of cat food in their arms. Eren had already slipped on the ice twice, clumsy as he is, and neither wanted to repeat that mortifying experience ever again.

 

"This lot will probably last a month," Levi countered, habitually walking over to the kettle to fill it with water before remembering it's unfortunate condition. "At least it's better than sneaking food to him underneath the table, Eren."

 

The younger boy's face went bright red. "I d-didn't!" he stuttered, making it obvious that he had because Levi accused him of no such thing.

 

"Liar!" he teased, "Your ears have gone red and besides, I saw the mess you left in the dining room. Clear it up and I might forget you did it."

 

"Okay!" Eren immediately rushed off, still a little flushed, not having recovered from the cold weather outside.

 

"Idiot..." Levi murmured affectionately under his breath, beginning to empty the dry food into a bigger tub they had purchased along the way, filling TJ's food bowl when he'd finished. There. That should hopefully stop any more mornings, much like this one, from being interrupted again. He still hadn't forgiven that cat for waking him up three times in a row. Even Eren had seemed slightly annoyed with his cat, ignoring the animal completely when it came up to him, begging for attention. However, he couldn't keep angry at anyone for more than five minutes, and so ended up giving into TJ's pleas for love, spoiling the cat rotten. Much to Levi's disapproval.

 

Funnily enough, just as the ravenette was recalling this, said cat came wandering around the corner, pink nose twitching as he brushed himself up against Levi's legs. Something had caught his attention, and that something became clear when TJ suddenly located the food bowl Levi had placed down for him. Giving a triumphant 'meow' at his find, he padded over to the dish, giving it a tentative sniff, before beginning to indulge himself.

 

Levi watched in silence for a while, grey eyes trained on TJ as he ate, wondering if this really was such a good idea. 

 

But Eren seemed happy. So it couldn't be that bad.

 

**Sunday 6th, 14:50**

 

**Cat**

 

Didn't these people know it was rude to stare?

 

It was as though that stupid human of his wasn't even trying to hide his glare. Couldn't he see that TJ was trying to eat? Yet even with his back turned, he could certainly feel that icy gaze staring daggers at him while he devoured the food that had been placed down for him. 

 

This was why TJ had developed a disliking towards that human. He obviously didn't care much for the cat, as his behaviour towards him was bordering off offensive. And why was that? TJ couldn't say, but he wasn't going to just let such a thing go. How dare anyone treat him in such a way?

 

Before he finished eating, he heard another pair of footsteps enter the kitchen, followed by a conversation he couldn't really be bothered to listen to. He recognised the voice, though. It was the other human. Not the one who had carried him along in an uncomfortable cardboard box and threw him out the room in the morning, but the one who would give him the attention he deserved. His human.

 

He abandoned his bowl and turned around, walking over to his human and brushing against him.

 

"Look at me," he demanded, glaring up at the smiling human, who was currently saying something uninteresting to the mean human. Both of them laughed for some reason. Probably something stupid. Whatever it was, it didn't matter.

 

"Human!" TJ whined, "Ignore him, he's just rude! Pet me instead!"

 

Nothing. Still no reaction.

 

" _Humaaaaaan_!"

 

That caught their attention. Finally.

 

"What is it, TJ?" human asked kindly, bending down to stroke along the cat's back, earning a satisfied purr. "Do you like that?"

 

He proceeded to pet TJ, much to his delight, although the mean human didn't look too happy. Then again, he never seemed to look happy. And now TJ was getting all the attention, and he was getting none.

 

_Serves you right, you big meanie_.

 

**Tuesday 8th, 21:03pm**

 

**Eren**

 

_Knock, knock_.

 

"Eren, go get the door, will you?"

 

Eren looked over at Levi, a frown settling on his face. "Can't we leave it? It can't be anyone important, it's too late for anyone like that to come round," he protested, unwilling to move from his place on the couch. He had TJ on his lap, and the cat had settled down, fast asleep, in such an adorable position that he didn't have the heart to move him. Of course, Levi knew this.

 

"I'll hold him for you while you go and get it."

 

"Why can't you go and get it?"

 

"Give me the damn cat."

 

"He doesn't like you!"

 

"I don't like him."

 

"Then why did you get him?"

 

_Knock, knock_.

 

"Do you want me to bring him back?"

 

"No, no don't! He's happy here!"

 

"Then give me the cat and go get the door."

 

"But I- _fiiine_."

 

The brunette huffed, regrettably picking up the cat and handing him to Levi, before trudging into the hallway to open the front door. He could guess who it was, and found that his suspicions were correct when it opened to reveal the beaming face of Hanji Zoe.

 

Eren immediately replaced his childish pout with a smile of his own, greeting her formally despite how often she came round. Usually Hanji visited them by herself, but it wasn't unusual for Erwin to accompany her. The two were kind-of-partners-but-not-really, and Levi's two closest friends, so Eren didn't really mind their frequent visits. Besides, Hanji was funny as hell, and her good-natured joking and teasing made everything a lot more interesting. No Erwin today, though.

 

"Hey Hanji," he greeted, "Do you want to-"

 

"Where is it?" the wild-eyed brunette interrupted suddenly, staring past Eren, into the room beyond.

 

"Uh... where's what?"

 

She gave a little laugh, ruffling his hair. "The surprise, silly," she told him, bouncing on the balls of her feet, obviously excited, "What Levi got you?"

 

"You mean Ti- wait, how do you kn-"

 

"Leviiiii!" the woman screeched, stepping past Eren and running into the room, where Levi was trying to calm the struggling cat. At the sight of the crazy woman hurrying over to them, TJ increased his escape attempts, to no avail- he was soon enveloped in yet another pair of arms, and though Hanji was well intentioned, Eren knew that he was terrified for his safety. 

 

"Get off me, you idiot!" Levi yelled, also probably aware that his safety was in risk, "You're going to hurt the bloody cat!"

 

Indeed, TJ was beginning to put up a fight. As Levi was the one currently holding him, unable to release him because of Hanji's arms trapping him in place, he was the one feeling the wrath of the cat's anger. Sharp claws tore ferociously through the air, trying to get at any part of the man they could reach, and Eren could do nothing but watch, and conceal a bit of laughter, as all three of them fought against one another, Hanji trying to hug the cat, Levi trying to avoid the paws swiping at him, and TJ causing most of the havoc by attacking whatever he could reach to escape Hanji's grasp.

 

**Tuesday 8th, 21:56pm**

 

**Levi**

 

Even if he didn't say it, Levi truly loved Hanji as a friend. She was light-hearted and fun, and even her teasing wasn't all that bad. She was serious at the right times, and didn't take shit from anyone. Hanji Zoe may seem constantly cheerful and carefree, but if you got onto her bad side, you'd never come out unscathed. Better to leave her questionable humour... well, unquestioned.

 

Still, that didn't mean Levi was sad to see the back of her, once she had left. The woman had stayed for less than an hour. All she did was talk about some messed up condition one of her patients had, as well as fussing over the cat, who had stayed angry for the rest of the evening. He hadn't allowed even Eren to approach him, but that obviously didn't last- the two of them were currently cuddled up on the couch, while Levi was alone on the armchair. Eren had fallen asleep less than five minutes ago, while TJ had fixed Levi with a smug look, obviously revelling in his position. Was that animal challenging him?

 

"Try me, Little Shit," he growled from across the room. TJ just blinked.

 

This was getting stupid. Levi wasn't jealous of a cat. But with the way Eren had been paying less and less attention to him each day, and more to TJ, had riled him up. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't he be the one lying with Eren as he slept?

 

TJ blinked.

 

Levi scowled.

 

**Friday 11th, 12:41pm**

 

**Eren**

 

"Oh, my God..."

 

They were in for it now. Why did this have to happen? Levi was going to kill TJ. Then he was going to use TJ to kill him, too.

 

"We're dead," he muttered, staring at the mess that had been created without his knowing before it was too late. The damn cat had scratched up the carpet, pieces of it scattered around, unsightly rips and tears in the material. Levi would never permit such a mess in his living room. When the man eventually got home from work later on, that would officially be the end of Eren's life. 

 

"Meow," said TJ, brushing up against his legs, totally unaware of the situation he had just put Eren in. Or maybe he didn't care. Probably the latter, as it was obvious he had taken a disliking to the ravenette.

 

That had become clear over the past week. It seemed as though TJ knew just how to wind Levi up, and had wasted no time in doing so. From scratching at their bedroom door early in the morning, to sitting on his work clothes so they were always covered in huge amounts of fur, he had managed to tease Levi in a way nobody else ever had. Half the time, Eren feared Levi would just grow impatient and kick him out, for it certainly seemed like he was going to some days. Yet, much to his credit, Levi had made no movement to do such a thing, for which Eren was pleased about. Did he mean that much to him that he'd put up with such an annoyance just to keep him happy? It appeared so.

 

Still, it wasn't like Levi wasn't getting his own back at the cat. For some reason, he seemed intent on keeping TJ away from Eren as much as he could, which greatly annoyed the cat. As well as that, he'd also lock the doors at night so TJ wouldn't disturb them in mornings. At least Eren agreed with that. He was as much of a morning person as Levi was.

 

He'd finally come to the realisation that this tension between cat and human was nothing more than a fight for his attention. And while he thought the idea was a little insane, he'd decided a while earlier on to make use of that knowledge. After all, he craved Levi's attention as much as Levi craved his.

 

He just hoped Levi wouldn't be too angry when he finally saw this mess.

 

**Friday 11th, 8:37**

 

**Levi**

 

He was tired.

 

That's all Levi could think of when he unlocked the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him. His suit was crumpled, his hair was windswept, and he wanted to shower. The day had been a rather shitty one- a client of his had been causing unnecessary trouble and it had taken him all day to sort it out. 

 

"Eren?" he called, sighing slightly, "I'm home, how was- ugh, what have you done now?"

 

Levi hadn't even seen the mess, but he could tell, as soon as Eren stepped into the room, that something was wrong, just by the look on his face.

 

"N-nothing!" the brunette said, a bit too defensively, "Well... TJ kind of..."

 

He fell silent when Levi gave him The Look. 

 

Sighing in defeat, the younger male turned around and began to lead his lover to the scene of the crime. Levi didn't seem at all shocked to see the carpet all torn up, but then again, he was the master of concealing emotions.

 

"Where is he?"

 

"Levi..."

 

"Eren, where is he?" 

 

"...in the guest room."

 

That was TJ's new room, seeing as Levi hated getting into a fur covered bed every night.

 

"Levi, wait!" Eren begged, suddenly grabbing onto the shorter man's arm, "Please don't throw him out! It won't happen again, I swear! I'll clean up the mess and-"

 

"What?" Levi interrupted. He was confused. Did really think he was as heartless as to do such a thing? He may have been pissed off with that cat, but he knew how much Eren loved him. He would never do such a thing. 

 

"Eren, you idiot... I wouldn't..."

 

The brunette didn't let go of his arm, but his eyes had an unnatural glint to them that made Levi wonder just what he was up to.

 

"I promise I'll fix things, Levi," he murmured in a small voice, placing his other hand on the ravenette's chest.

 

"Okay." There was something up here. Eren's whole demeanour had changed so suddenly that Levi was completely thrown off. 

 

"I'm really sorry, Levi," he said softly, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

 

"Eren..."

 

"Yes, Levi?" Since when had he gotten so close? Eren's face was inches away from his own, fingers still playing with the buttons on his shirt, hand clutching at his sleeve-

 

Oh.

 

Levi leaned in to close the distance between them, losing himself in that familiar heat, succumbing to the lips that yearned for his own. Fucking finally, he thought to himself, quickly losing all sense of thought when he felt a firm hand upon his chest, pushing him back into the bedroom. From the look on his face, Levi knew that Eren had planned this. He hadn't even been discreet about it, or patient. Levi was tired and done-in, and yet he wanted nothing more than to indulge his lover. Sly bastard.

 

"Levi..." Eren whined desperately when he pulled away for a moment, turning so that the brunette couldn't see what he was doing. 

 

"Hold on a moment, Eren," Levi said, voice low.

 

He locked the door.

 

"We don't want to be interrupted, do we?"

 

**Saturday 12th, 11:04am**

 

The two lay in bed, both awake, but too lazy to move. The events of the previous night had kept them going well into the early morning, so they had already decided to stay in bed as long as they could. TJ, of course, had joined them a little while ago, when Eren had taken pity on the animal due to his whining and scratching. He was situated in between them both, purring loudly as Eren stroked and petted him. Honestly, he did look sweet, all curled up like that, and even Levi couldn't help but stroke him a little. Maybe he wouldn't regret getting him for Eren as much as he thought he would.

 

"You know, you still have to clean up the mess in the living room," Levi casually told the younger boy, grinning at the protesting groan he received in return. 

 

"But I'm tired!" he complained, nuzzling at Levi in a way very similar to how TJ would.

 

"I'll help you, don't worry. I know how clueless you are when it comes to cleaning." Levi pushed him away, wrapping an arm around him instead. Eren relaxed against his body, a small smile gracing his lips.

 

"Thank you... for everything."

 

Levi didn't have to ask to know what he meant. "It's okay."

 

**Saturday 12th, 11:16 am**

 

**Cat**

 

What the hell were they doing? Why was his human getting all snuggly with the mean man, when he was the one who clearly deserved some attention? He had been locked outside nearly all night, for god's sake! And then when he's finally permitted entrance, all he gets is a few measely strokes and the two humans being all huggy and weird and downright disgusting. 

 

"Stop it!" he cried when the mean man suddenly leaned in to press a kiss to his human's forehead.

 

_Gross_.

 

"You're so embarrassing, Human," TJ whined when, instead of getting angry like any normal person would, his human actually blushed and returned the act.

 

God, if this was kept up, he was going to be sick. Then maybe they wouldn't be so disgusting around him.

 

"What's wrong?" Human asked, noticing how he had stiffened so suddenly. However, he soon relaxed a little when those warm hands of Human's started to stroke him again, and he soon settled back down.

 

"Little Shit," the mean one smiled. 

 

That was okay, he supposed. Mr Mean could continue calling him degrading names, and TJ could continue sleeping on his newly washed, ironed and incredibly comfy looking work clothes.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've posted on here, so I'm really nervous about it- there are so many amazing works on this site. Thank you for reading this little story I wrote for my friend's birthday!


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